A Boring Day (OpEx)

It was option expiration day today, and that often means we get a boring, dull market day.
And that indeed was the case. We saw mostly sideways action in a narrow range. Indices barely traded outside of yesterday's range, except for small caps briefly at the open.

5m-chart SPY:

Daily charts DIA, SPY, QQQ and IWM:

Euro, metals, oil
Metals were moving along with indices, sideways that is.
But the euro and oil both had a good day. Especially oil with a move higher of 2%.


Trades
Sold some INSP @13.34, only holding a tiny part. All out of LNKD as it moved through my stop near the end of the day. Average price: 91.65 (in 87.50), a gain of 4.62% (including commissions).


Articles for tonight:
Dumb Money vs. Smart Money
Do you fail as a trader or just learn it is not your passion?

Transports Up Big

Transports were up huge today, +3.3%. They had quite a rally the last few days. And with all the talks that they are lagging the Dow and have to confirm the move up in the latter, this rally seems more than welcome. It takes away some doubts imho.

Today's action was typical for a bullmarket; a slow move higher, nothing 'fancy'. The only thing lacking, is a breakout in small caps. IWM is still struggling with the 83-level for over a month now (see daily chart below). But it's setting up ideally this week. A breakout may follow soon!

5m-chart SPY:

Daily charts DIA, SPY, QQQ and IWM:

Euro, oil, metals
Let's start with oil. There were rumors that oil (emergency) reserves would be released and instantly, oil dropped 2%. Later on, the news was inaccurate, according to an Obama aide. And oil recovered fast and furious, but couldn't regain all the losses.
Metals were trading simultaneous with the market/indices.
The euro found support on 1.30 and bounced back to the 1.31-level.


Trades
I bought FIO @31 after it bounced on 30.50 (13EMA on the daily). Sold a small part @31.50. The stock couldn't move higher and even dropped back while indices went up. Sold the main part at breakeven (average: 31.06, +0.14%) near the end of the session. All out.

I'm still holding on to my LNKD and INSP positions. LNKD is holding up well, INSP just keeps going higher.

Sideways Action

After the recent gains, especially after yesterday's huge move, some consolidation was to be suspected. And that's what happened today, mostly sideways action. No big pullback, so far I still see bullish action. The only underperformance came from small caps, losing 1% where Dow and tech were trading in the green.

5m-chart SPY:

Daily charts DIA, SPY, QQQ and IWM:

Euro, oil, metals
The euro moved more or less in correlation with indices. Oil did the same, although intraday it broke down through the 105.50-105.65 level which often has been support.
Metals got a kick in the teeth today; copper and silver lost over 1.5%, silver dropped +3%.


Trades
I sold BONE (average @3.29, +2.35%) since it wasn't moving the last few days (not even yesterday). And with earnings coming for this stock (03/22), I didn't want to hold on to it for too long.

I bought some more LNKD on the pullback this morning @92 but with a rather tight stop. Out on the new position per 91.25, but still holding a big part of the original buy from 03/08 (in 87.50).

Still holding INSP which is acting strong and is my biggest winner from the last two weeks.


Articles for tonight:
What's Next for Gold?
All tells eventually die, case study, the Euro
Are You An Overconfident Trader?

FOMC, JPM And New Highs

What a day! The market gapped higher and pulled back only little in the morning. Today's important news was the rate decision (unchanged at 0.25%) and the FOMC-announcement. On that news, indices acted skittish, but didn't fall. Gold, silver and the euro however travelled lower quickly.

With an hour to go before the close of the session, JPM announced a $15 Billion buyback and a higher dividend. On that news, stocks/indices shot higher and gold & silver made new intraday lows.

We closed at the highs, up nicely (indices all +1.6%) and on decent volume! Although many on twitter keep calling for a top, I only have one conclusion: the trend is still up, charts are looking bullish! I guess a pullback towards the breakout level would be normal (in the near future that is). But we'll probably see some higher prices first.

Indices touched some important levels today: the Dow closed above 13,000, the S&P500 is close to 1,400 and Nasdaq closed above 3,000.

5m-chart SPY:

Daily charts DIA, SPY, QQQ and IWM:

Euro, oil, metals: they all behaved rather weak overnight, lagging the futures/indices. A big bounce for oil though, little after the start of the session. Metals crawled their way back near breakeven, still lagging indices. The euro bounced on 1.305 and is coming close to the 1.30 support level.
After the FOMC-announcement, gold, silver and the euro initially went down quickly. The euro didn't make new lows intraday, but gold and silver did on the JPM-news.


Trades
Still in BONE, LNKD, INSP. I took some (small) partial profits in INSP (per 13.24, in from 12.18) and also in LNKD (per 94.80, in from 87.50).


Articles for tonight:
FOMC Speaks
Higher Oil Prices Are Deflationary
How To Start Keeping A Journal

Basically A Non-event

Rather dull action today with a shallow pullback that was bought during lunch time. So after three updays, stocks are finally resting a bit. Not that we're really overbought here, but with most indices sitting near resistance, more consolidation would be ideal to setup for higher prices.

The major indices ended near Friday's close, only Dow Jones had a slight advantage over the other indices.
But today was basically sideways consolidation. Healthy action after last week's up-and-down move.

5m-chart SPY:

Daily charts DIA, SPY, QQQ and IWM:

Metals and oil got sold today (no harm done though), the euro managed to book a small profit.


Trades
Still holding onto BONE, LNKD (sold a small part @92.25) and INSP.
Stops are all raised in the money. Only overnight gaps lower can hurt me at this point.


Articles for tonight:
Nasdaq 3000: 2012 vs 1999
The Theory of the Transitory Bubble

Small Caps In The Picture

Most people were waiting for the job report, coming out one hour before the opening of today's session. The numbers weren't bad, but no big surprises either.

Small caps rallied much harder than other stocks, the RUT was up >1.5% while other major indices gained about 0.5%! After a small morning rally, the market traded sideways for a couple of hours. Coming towards the close of the day, prices started to pullback somewhat.

5m-chart SPY:

Daily charts DIA, SPY, QQQ and IWM:

Metals and the euro got hammered before the open, as a reaction to the NFP-report.
Oil initially traded lower as well, but got back to earlier levels in no time.
When indices rallied higher, so did metals and oil. But not the euro, it dropped and couldn't get of it's lows.


Trades
Earnings on AIS next Monday before the market open, so I sold the entire position today (average: 2.94 for a gain of 6.48%).
Holding on to BONE, LNKD & INSP. I sold small parts of BONE & INSP.


Articles for tonight:
The One Industry That Never Stops Adding Jobs
Two Years Since The Journey Began

Nice Rally, Will We Reach Recent Highs?

A very nice gap up this morning, was followed with a shallow pullback. And then we got ourselves a beautiful trendday up. After lunchtime, there was a shallow pullback, but no harm done. After some consolidation, we broke higher again. Near the close we saw more selling, mostly daytraders that are taking profits I guess.
Many people will be watching the NFP-report tomorrow before the open...

5m-chart SPY:

Daily charts DIA, SPY, QQQ and IWM:

Metals, euro, oil: not that surprising, all were up today. They all traded more or less in line with indices.


Trades
I bought 3 more stocks today, BONE and LNKD shortly after the open and INSP about an hour later. They all went higher on very good volume. And so did AIS, bought yesterday. All 4 stocks were trading >100% of their average volume before halfway through the day.

Entries and stop-losses:
BONE: long 3.20, SL3.00 (raised to 3.10)
LNKD: long 87.50, SL85.25 (raised to 87.50)
INSP: long 12.18, SL11.98 (raised to 12.07)
Stop in AIS raised to BE (2.75)

These are all meant as swing trades, so wide stops are used. But I like today's action and the daily charts of these stocks. I expect some pullbacks tomorrow. We saw some profittaking near the close. Quite normal with such big gains, daytraders are getting out with nice gains.


Articles for tonight:
We've Been Here Before...
Time To Sell Gold?
Do not spend time mastering the shakeouts